TEACHING NETWORKING SKILLS IN AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE: IMPACT OF A LINKEDIN ASSIGNMENT ON STUDENT PERCEPTIONS AND BEHAVIORS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many marketing educators want to help students develop networking and career development skills. LinkedIn can be valuable in this process, but students use it the least of any of the major social networks. Previous studies have discussed assignments using LinkedIn as a pedagogical tool to teach professional networking skills, but these studies did not track whether student site usage continued after the assessment ended. This pilot research details an assignment requiring undergraduates to create LinkedIn accounts, establish networks, and perform tasks likely to result in long-term professional benefits. After the assignment intervention, students showed significantly increased usage of site features and perceptions of the value of professional networking, along with growth in number of connections. In a follow-up survey six months later, a significant number of respondents reported that they were still actively using their account.